Graduation is the highlight of the academic year and we are really looking forward to the celebrations. Degree Congregations for our Class of 2025 Birmingham graduates are due to take place in the Great Hall between Tuesday 8 and Friday 18 July 2025 (excluding weekends).
Invtiations to July ceremonies will be sent in late January 2025, so it's really important that you keep your contact details up to date. Please add graduation@contacts.bham.ac.uk to your contacts list. You may also need to check your junk folder in case our emails have been redirected there.
We are really looking forward to these special occasions and to helping you to celebrate your achievements. We hope you are getting excited about them too!
When is my ceremony?
Ceremonies will take place between Tuesday 8 and Friday 18 July 2025 (excluding weekends). More information will be published in late January 2025.
Preparing for the day
There are always lots of questions when preparing for your graduation, so we've answered some of the most commonly asked ones below.
You should hire your academic dress with Ede & Ravenscroft. You need to place your order with Ede & Ravenscroft using their online order form, this will not open until March 2025. If you experience any problems with your order, please contact them at customer_services@academic-services.co.uk or 01223 734759. If you missed the deadline, please speak to Ede & Ravenscroft on the day of your ceremony to see if you can place an order on the day.
You will be able to collect the robes you have ordered in the Bramall Music Building on the day of your ceremony. Robe collection will be based on the first floor of the building and will open at 08:00. You will need to return your robes by the end of the day. We will email you a week before your ceremony with all the information on where to return your robes.
Degree Congregations are formal events and graduands and their guests are encouraged to dress for such an occasion. Please be aware that when being presented for your degree you will climb a set of steps up to the Great Hall stage, so please bear this in mind when choosing your footwear.
How will I receive my certificate?
Students who attend a Degree Congregation in the Great Hall will be able to collect their documents on campus on the day. The collection point will be located next to robe return and details will be emailed to you a week before the ceremony.
Students graduating in their absence will be emailed in late June 2025 to express how you wish to receive your certificate, with an option to collect this from campus on the day of your ceremony. Students who did not book to collect from campus will be asked to confirm the delivery address for their documents and if you would like these sent by standard post, or if you wish to pay for us to send this by courier for you. The email will have a deadline to complete the address confirmation by 23:59 (GMT) on 31 July 2025. Please do not come to campus to collect your documents if you have not had confirmation of your collection booking as the documents will not be available and please note these cannot be collected by anyone other than the student. Documents will be posted in August 2025.
You will also be able to view, download and share an electronic copy of your degree certificate and transcript online via our Secure Documents website three working days after your Degree Congregation has taken place. Current and potential employers can also register with us, allowing them to directly verify your qualifications with us while you wait for the physical copies of your documents to arrive.
How can I book official photography?
Ede and Ravenscroft offer a range of photography packages, which can be
booked online using the same form as for hiring academic dress. Portrait photography will take place in the
Nuffield Building. The studios will be open from 08:00 until 20:00 on days with 4 ceremonies (last ceremony 5.30pm), and 08:00 to 19:00 hours on days with 3 ceremonies (last ceremony 3pm).
What if I have access requirements?
We have a dedicated Accessibility & Support at Graduations webpage that contains additional information about the day. If you are a graduand and have any access requirements that you would like to discuss with a member of the team, particularly with regard to your being presented for your degree in the Great Hall, please email gradhelp@contacts.bham.ac.uk and we will be happy to talk you through the options available to you. Please also get in touch with us if you require a ticket for a registered carer.
If you are driving to the celebrations, parking for blue badge holders is available on campus and is identifiable via the campus mobility map. Some disabled parking may require you to enter restricted campus areas. If this is the case, please press the buzzer to speak to security, who will be able to open the appropriate gate for you. Please ensure that you display your blue badge clearly.
The campus mobility map also shows level access routes to the Great Hall. You should enter via the Bramall Building (reference R12 on the campus mobility map).
Tickets
Each graduand is allocated their own ticket to the ceremony plus two guest tickets, which will grant access to the Great Hall for your Degree Congregation. There is no charge for tickets. Please note you will also only receive two guest tickets to any reception arranged by your School.
When will I receive my tickets?
Your graduand ticket and two guest tickets will be available to collect from the ticket desk on the ground floor of the Bramall Music Building on the day of your ceremony. The ticket desk will open at 8.00am and close when the last ceremony has started each day. You need to check in at the ticket desk and collect your paper tickets before proceeding upstairs to collect your robes. To ensure that you have plenty of time to do this ahead of your ceremony, please arrive at the ticket desk two hours before your ceremony is due to start. Don't forget that the doors to the Great Hall close 15 minutes before the ceremony start time, so you need to already be in your seat before then. To help reduce waiting times and make the queues more manageable, we ask that only graduands join the queue for tickets in the Bramall Music Building where possible please.
You must collect your ticket in order to gain access to the Great Hall. Graduands with blue tickets should enter the Great Hall through the left-hand doors. Graduands with red tickets should enter through the doors on the right. Guests enter through the middle doors. You will be asked to show your ticket to the staff on the doors. Guests should then proceed to the front of the Hall to find an available seat - guest seating is not numbered. Graduands will need to check in at the desk inside the Great Hall before taking their numbered seat. This is crucial as otherwise you will not be presented for your degree in the correct order and you risk your name being crossed out of the list!
How many guests can I bring with me?
In the interests of safety, we limit the number of guests who can join you in the Great Hall to two. Please note that this number includes children of any age as it relates to the capacity limit of the building and not to the availability of seats. No extra tickets will be available for the Degree Congregations (unless for a carer) but we may operate a queue outside the Great Hall prior to the ceremony, subject to capacity. Please see the section 'will any extra tickets be available' for further information.
You are welcome to bring additional guests to campus with you but please note that admission will also be limited to two tickets for your School reception too. Additional guests that can't enter the Great Hall can watch the ceremony from our viewing room which will be signposted on campus on the day. No tickets are needed for the viewing room, for which seats are not reserved in advance. The ceremony will also be webcast so that anyone unable to join you on campus can watch online. The recordings will then continue to be available on the University's YouTube channel, should anyone miss them live.
Will any extra tickets be available?
Extra guest tickets for the Great Hall are not available in advance of the Degree Congregations, unless needed for a registered carer. Subject to guest numbers, a limited number of spare seats may become available in the Great Hall on the day. Where this is the case, we will operate a queue outside of the Great Hall and allocate seats on a first-come, first-served basis before the ceremony starts. We do not guarantee that extra guests you bring to campus with you will be able to enter the Great Hall.
Will the Degree Congregations be shown online?
Yes, the Degree Congregations will be webcast live so that anyone unable to join you on campus can watch online. The recordings will then continue to be available on the
University's YouTube channel, should anyone miss them live.
The Venues
Your Degree Congregation will take place in the Great Hall at the centre of our Edgbaston campus. Our students have been graduating from this iconic building since the early 1900s. After your Degree Congregation you and your guests are welcome to spend the day enjoying our beautiful campus, where you can take your own graduation-day photographs against the backdrop of Old Joe and the Aston Webb Building.
Important information
It is important to remember that communications about your graduation and related activities do not confirm successful completion of your degree and should not be taken as proof that you are, or will be, eligible to graduate. Only students meeting the terms of a Degree of the University as listed under Ordinance 4.1.1 will be eligible to actually attend the July graduations. Some students will be allocated a place at a Degree Congregation but will not be eligible to graduate by the time of the ceremony (if, for example, you have not yet submitted your dissertation, you have not paid all of your tuition fees, you are resitting any examinations or have not met the terms of your degree in time).
You will be able to access your official progress and examination results online through the 'Exam marks and progress decisions – end of year marks' link in the 'Exams and Assessments' column of the Student Gateway. Please note that there are additional requirements for research students. You can find out more by reading the Terms and Conditions.
If you have already had your degree conferred, whether in person or in absentia, then you cannot attend the July Degree Congregations. This includes our Class of 2020 and Class of 2021 graduates.
In the event of the Degree Congregations having to be cancelled, delayed, postponed or curtailed due to circumstances beyond the control of the University, the University shall give as much notice as is reasonably practical to students of such cancellation, delay, postponement or curtailment. Circumstances that would constitute a force majeure may include, but are not limited to: fire, flood, explosion or any other incident that renders the venue in which the Degree Congregation is due to be held unsafe to use; terrorist act (or threat of a terrorist act); natural disaster; pandemic; industrial action; or a period of national mourning. The University will not be liable for any losses, direct or otherwise, incurred by students or their guests in the event of the University of Birmingham’s graduation ceremonies being cancelled, delayed, postponed or curtailed due to circumstances beyond the control of the University.